15 Enigmatic Objects That Left People Scratching Their Heads

We can sometimes come across enigmatic artifacts that defy comprehension. From perplexing ancient relics to modern-day anomalies, the following compilation dives into the curious realm of 15 mysterious objects that have amazed and captivated people.

1. “My many-year-old rain jacket has a smooth, somewhat flexible, seemingly plastic object sewn into the upper arm of the right sleeve only. What is it?”

• “Radar reflector for avalanche rescue purposes.” BooleansearchXOR*** / Reddit

2. “I bought this dish in a thrift store, thinking it might be good for tacos. It wasn’t ideal. What’s its actual purpose?”

• “Looks like a toast rack to me.” Difficult_Yak_1317 / Reddit

3. “Curved metal piece with purple gem on one end and a ball on the other. Found in a jar of buttons. Gem maybe plastic. The only identifying mark is the stamp ’E Ira R.’”

• “That’s an old cufflink.” cwthree / Reddit

4. “Hinged rods above windows in the sunroom of a 1968 home. Rods able to turn, about 7 inches long.”

• “They’re towel hangers. No idea why someone would install them over their windows, though.” jackrats / Reddit

5. “A heavy wooden block with a metal front and silver welding.”

• “Looks like it’s some schematic for some sort of device that uses a pendulum to time when pictures should be taken.” Mookie_Merkk / Reddit

6. “What is this round, frosted glass thing in the corner of the ceiling of every room in our Airbnb?”

• “Looks like motion sensors to me for a security system. I’ve had the same ones installed in my last house. They would be at least 15 years old. Modern ones are far subtler.” the_hairy_metal_skin / Reddit

7. “This is a lump of green glass with white inclusions or spots in it. The glass has sharp and smooth edges and appears to have been shattered.”

• “Lovellite. In the 1920s, in Lovell, Wyoming, a glass factory had a devastating fire. Exact dates vary depending on source and lore. What is certain is what it produced in the aftermath. The mineral wollastonite developed in the globs of glass that melted in the fire. Inclusions from spherical to octagon crystallography developed in the green-blue glass.
  Locals gathered the material and sold it to tourists and travelers passing through. Word got to the mineral collector community, and popularity peaked because of the uncommon mechanism that caused it.” DoubleBreastedBerb / Reddit

8. “Round ceramic object, approx 8 inches in diameter.”

• “Cat slow feeder bowl.” UltraCoolP***Daddy / Reddit

9. “Blue rubber object found in the kitchen after someone stayed here.”

• “It’s a silicone hot plate picker-upper from the Bacchanal buffet at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.” Mackin-N-Cheese / Reddit

10. “Found these clumps of fibers in my apartment and at first thought they were cat hair, but they are too thick and break easily when bent.”

• “It was deer hair from a cat toy — my cat sitter brought this attachment, and my cats stole/destroyed it. I had no idea they made cat toys with deer hair!” Empty_Dragonfly2624 / Reddit

11. “Golden-coloured opaque glass object about 25cm tall. Weights about 40g. Hollow with no holes.”

• “It’s a decor item.” jackrats / Reddit

12. “Metal shards inside the shower head of the place I’m renting? What are these, and why are they in there?”

• “Surely they are solder from copper plumbing. If you overheat the pipes while soldering, long strands like this can form on the inside. Definitely a sign of improper soldering, if that’s what they are.” DabblrDubs / Reddit

13. “Pottery found at the thrift store. It has metal hooks inside.”

• “So I phoned the shop that sells her work, and it’s 100% for paintbrushes.” sad***t** / Reddit

14. “Strange tool. About 7” long and made of stainless steel."

• “It is used for cutting bonsai trees.” choppin_brockelee / Reddit

15. “What is this thing I inherited from my grandparents? What I know is that it’s Scandinavian, over 40 years old, made of glass, spoon-shaped, hollow, and about 1m tall.”

• “It was used to heat portions of food in the olden days.” CptJonzzon / Reddit

As we observe the world of enigmatic objects, one thing remains clear: the human spirit is fiercely drawn to the unknown.